ACM Honors

Since launching his career nearly a decade ago, Louisiana native Jordan Davis has added a string of titles to his resume: including five-time Billboard Country Airplay chart-topping artist, purveyor of two RIAA platinum-certified albums (his 2018 album Home State and 2023 album Bluebird Days), hit songwriter, and reigning Academy of Country Music Awards song of the year winner (for “Next Thing You Know,” which he wrote with Josh Osborne, Chase McGill and Greylan James).

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For the 17th annual ACM Honors, which were held Aug. 21 at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium and will air Tuesday night (Sept. 24) on Merit Street starting at 9 p.m. ET, Davis is adding a new appellation: awards ceremony co-host, as he joins four-time ACM Honors host Carly Pearce in guiding this year’s show.

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The ACM Honors marks an annual reunion of sorts for country music’s community of artists and behind-the-scenes musicians and executives, who are feted for their accomplishments and long-term contributions to the genre.

“It’s just a special night to get to honor so many people that we see throughout the year,” the MCA Nashville-signed Davis tells Billboard. “Whether it be from a venue side, from a booking side, management side, publishing side — that night is special for us to get to say thank you to them, and to show everybody just how important their roles are in this whole music industry. That’s my favorite part of that night. It’s a homecoming.”

Fans packed the 2,362-person capacity Ryman to celebrate this year’s honorees, which include ACM poet’s award winners Alan Jackson and Walt Aldridge, ACM triple crown award winner and milestone award winner Lainey Wilson, ACM icon award winners Tony Brown and Trisha Yearwood, ACM lifting lives award recipient Luke Bryan, ACM lift every voice award honoree Shannon Sanders, ACM songwriter of the year Jessie Jo Dillon and ACM songwriter-artist of the year Chris Stapleton.

The evening featured performances and/or presentations from Lauren Alaina, Jason Aldean, Eric Church, Terri Clark, Davis, Jackson Dean, Vince Gill, Emmylou Harris, Tyler Hubbard, Jamey Johnson, Post Malone, Kameron Marlowe, Ashley McBryde, Pearce, Keith Urban and Lee Ann Womack.

Davis also gives credit to his co-host and fellow performer Pearce with making his first ACM Honors co-hosting gig “as easy and comfortable as possible.” He adds, “She is such a pro at this and just crushed it. From studying the script before making changes, to the final read through we had, Carly made changes that just made everything flow easier and read easier. She’s just such a pro.”

Though the evening meant a hectic pace for both Pearce and Davis, he says they did have moments earlier in the day to take in some of the top-shelf collaborations that dotted the evening.

“We had to be there early, so we got to see the entire soundcheck,” Davis says. “I got to sit there and watch Vince Gill and Ashley McBryde run through [Gill’s “When I Call Your Name”] in an empty Ryman Auditorium. I was almost moved to tears. Vince is just such an icon in the genre and having him and Ashley together, it was really moving.”

Asked about the possibility of co-hosting future ACM Honors ceremonies, he says, “Absolutely, I’d do it again in a heartbeat. I guess we’ll have to see. It’s like we did the test and we’re waiting on the grade. I don’t have a doubt in the world that they’ll ask Carly to host again, but if they ask me to do it, I would love to.”

Given that Davis is a writer on each of his five No. 1 Country Airplay hits “Slow Dance in a Parking Lot,” “Singles You Up,” “Tucson Too Late,” and the two-week chart-toppers “What My World Spins Around” and “Buy Dirt” (with Luke Bryan), it is notable that his new release, “I Ain’t Sayin’,” is one he didn’t write.

“I Ain’t Sayin’” was written by Travis Wood, Steve Moakler, Mark Holman, and Emily Reid, and produced by Paul DiGiovanni. As an early taste of music from Davis’ upcoming project, he says the song harkens back to some of his earlier work.

“This truly is a town where, in my opinion, the best songwriters in the world live,” Davis says. “I’ve been trying to write something that kind of took me back to the Home State record and those early albums that I felt like my fans were missing. ‘Buy Dirt’ and ‘Next Thing You Know’ were songs that changed my life and I love them. Whenever the fans that we’ve gotten from ‘Buy Dirt’ and ‘Next Thing You Know’ come to a show, I don’t want them to be shocked when they see the other half of my shows are these kinds of songs. I’m really happy that they wrote that song with me in mind and sent it to me first. It is one of my favorite songs to perform right now. The first time I heard it, I was like, ‘It feels like something I would’ve written.’”

Davis has spent the majority of this year on his current headlining D—n Good Time World Tour, which picks back up in October with a slate of shows in Canada. At this point in his career, each album brings with it the potential to add more chart-topping hits to his concerts, a notion he says has now helped shape how he approaches making an album.

“I’ve never had to make a record in the sense of looking at my live show. Touring is something that has become something that I truly love. I’ve always let the best song lead, and now I’m making a record in the spots that I think my live show might be missing. I was kind of missing those ‘Home State’ sounds that me and [producer] Paul [DiGiovanni] recorded at his house. A lot of things have changed since then and my writing style has changed. I think both me and Paul wanted to get back to where it all started. We’re still going to have some songs in there about my kids and my family because that’s just where I am right now in my life. But yeah, [we’re] definitely going back to some early sounds.”

He estimates he will be finished recording the new project around November: “We’re cutting four more songs next week. December and January is kind of my family time, but I would expect a record maybe early next year.”

Pearce and Davis not only co-hosted the ACM Honors, but they teamed up to honor Jackson with a rendition of his 1991 hit “Don’t Rock the Jukebox.” Looking ahead to his next project, Davis is hopeful for another possible collaboration with Pearce.

“Carly Pearce has been a friend of mine for a long time, and I think we’ve got a couple of writes coming up that we’re going to try to nail something down we can do together,” he says. “This is actually the first time I’ve ever really singled out an artist, in a sense of Carly and been like, ‘Hey, we’ve got to do something together.’ Most of the time I kind let the song kind of pick where it goes. It’d be a cool thing for us to get to put something out together.”

Eric Church, Vince Gill, Emmylou Harris, Tyler Hubbard, Jamey Johnson, Ashley McBryde, Darius Rucker and Keith Urban are the first performers announced for the 2024 ACM Awards, which will be presented on Wednesday, Aug. 21 at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville.
Carly Pearce and Jordan Davis are set to host the event, which will pay tribute to this year’s previously-announced honorees Walt Aldridge, Tony Brown, Luke Bryan, Alan Jackson, Shannon Sanders, Lainey Wilson and Trisha Yearwood.

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Pearce is hosting for the fourth straight year. Davis is the reigning ACM song of the year winner, having won at the May 16 show for co-writing “Next Thing You Know” with Josh Osborne, Chase McGill and Greylan James.

Brown has worked closely with both Harris, for whom he played piano, and Gill, for whom he produced many recordings, including one that won an ACM Award – “Building Bridges,” a 2006 collab with Sheryl Crow which was voted vocal event of the year.

In addition to performing on the show, Hubbard will present the ACM studio recording and industry awards portion of ACM Honors, which is in its 17th year.

Additionally, previously announced artist-songwriter of the year winner Chris Stapleton and songwriter of the year Jessie Jo Dillon will be feted at ACM Honors.

Limited tickets for ACM Honors are available through AXS, including VIP packages which include a ticket in the VIP artist section of the Ryman (first seven rows), a ticket to the VIP pre-party reception, a commemorative Hatch Show Print poster, parking, and drink tickets.

This award is presented to a country music artist, duo/group or industry leader who, throughout their career, has advanced the popularity of the genre through their contributions in multiple facets of the industry, such as songwriting, recording, production, touring, film, television, literary works, philanthropic contributions, and other goodwill efforts. The award honors the contributions of Cliffie Stone, who was known for his producing work along with his country music career.

Brown, 77, has had a storied career in the music industry, from playing piano with Elvis Presley and Emmylou Harris, to producing innumerable hits for such artists as Reba McEntire, George Strait and Trisha Yearwood, and serving as president of MCA Records Nashville. He has previously won seven ACM Awards, including producer of the year.

Yearwood, 59, emerged as one of the top voices in country music in the 90s, winning ACM new female vocalist of the year in 1991 and winning ACM female vocalist of the year in 1997. Along with a win for ACM video of the year in 2016, Yearwood has taken home three ACM Awards in her career. She has notched five No. 1 hits on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart – “She’s in Love With the Boy,” “XXX’s and OOO’s (An American Girl),” “Thinkin’ About You,” “Believe Me Baby (I Lied)” and “Perfect Love.”

Previous recipients include: Alabama, Connie Bradley, Brooks & Dunn, Garth Brooks, Glen Campbell, Johnny Cash, Charlie Daniels, Mike Dungan, Joe Galante, Merle Haggard, Emmylou Harris, Alan Jackson, George Jones, The Judds, Loretta Lynn, Martina McBride, Tim McGraw, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, Charley Pride, Rascal Flatts, George Strait, Conway Twitty, Hank Williams, Hank Williams Jr. and Dwight Yoakam.

Luminaries from Nashville’s country music industry celebrated more than a dozen honorees as part of the 16th annual Academy of Country Music Honors, which airs Monday evening (Sept. 18) at 8 p.m. ET on Fox (and streams the following day on Hulu).
The evening celebrated not only many of country music’s hitmaking artists, but many throughout the music business who have made an indelible mark on the industry, and pushed the genre forward in many ways — including songwriters, musicians and industry executives.

Four-time ACM Award winner Carly Pearce returned as host for a third consecutive year. Reigning ACM new female artist of the year Hailey Whitters offered up a jovial, sassy rendering of her hit “Everything She Ain’t” and honored many of the studio winners during the evening.

Early in the evening, Breland was honored with the inaugural ACM Lift Every Voice Award, the newest ACM Honors accolade. Keith Urban, who called Breland “a superb songwriter and the real deal…he’s got a great heart,” joined Breland for a rendition of “Throw It Back.”

Breland offered perhaps one of the most insightful, stirring acceptance speeches of the evening.

“I just want to say winning this award is truly the highest honor that I’ve received in my career,” he said, going on to name several influential Black musicians such as Rufus “Tee Tot” Payne, who taught Hank Williams, as well as the railroad workers who influenced Jimmie Rodgers and the Grand Ole Opry’s first Black country star, DeFord Bailey. Breland also recognized Mickey Guyton, Darius Rucker and The War and Treaty for their music and their work in progressing diversity within country music.

A trio of superb singer-songwriters — Clint Black, Mary Chapin Carpenter (two members of country music’s illustrious “Class of ‘89”) and the late K.T. Oslin — were each honored with the ACM Poet’s Award.

Lady A honored Black by performing his 1993 hit duet with Wynonna “A Bad Goodbye,” while Trisha Yearwood performed “This Shirt” from Carpenter’s 1989 album State of the Heart.

Black said, “This only happens because so many people come together and get behind a guy or girl and make things happen for them.”

One songwriter honored another as Brandy Clark performed a heart-tugging, tender rendition of the late Oslin’s “’80s Ladies.” Meanwhile, acclaimed journalist/author Robert K. Oermann gave a touching acceptance speech honoring his dear friend Oslin, who died in 2020.

Pearce joined songwriter Emily Shackelton to perform Pearce’s “What He Didn’t Do,” to honor their co-writer on the song, this year’s ACM songwriter of the year recipient Ashley Gorley.

Meanwhile, HARDY was feted with the ACM artist-songwriter of the year honor.

The crowd began cheering as Bailey Zimmerman took the stage to sing HARDY’s “Signed Sober You.” Zimmerman told HARDY, “You’ve been an inspiration because you’ve always been you and done things your way. You’ve taught us we can do what we want and still be successful.” Dennis Matkosky, co-founder of Relative Music Group (HARDY was named partner in the company a couple of years ago), presented HARDY with the artist-songwriter of the year honor.

Longtime music industry members were also honored for their career contributions to the genre. Two country radio titans, Bill Mayne and Charlie Cook, were each honored with the ACM service award. Cook serves as vp of country music, programming operations manager for Cumulus Nashville’s five-station cluster, and program director for WSM-FM and WKDF-FM. Throughout his career, Mayne worked at both record labels and in radio; he also held the executive director role at Country Radio Broadcasters from 2011 until his retirement in 2019.

Chris Janson presented Cook with his honor, saying, “Without country radio I wouldn’t be standing here…thank you for believing in me,” before performing his hit “Good Vibes.”

Country Thunder Festival executive producer Troy Vollhoffer was named the recipient of the ACM Lifting Lives Award, given to an artist, duo/group or industry professional who has devoted themselves to improving lives through the power of music. Vollhoffer’s Premier Global Production company has been one of the foremost staging and lighting companies for decades. Meanwhile, Vollhoffer has served on the board of ACM Lifting Lives, rising to officer positions including vice president, president and ultimately chair of the board in 2022. He has also served on advisory boards for the T.J. Martell Foundation and Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital.

Storme Warren honored the late Charlie Daniels with the ACM spirit award, while Billy Ray Cyrus, Firerose and Travis Denning celebrated the legendary singer-songwriter-guitarist-fiddler in song with a rendition of Daniels’ “Long Haired Country Boy.” A recipient of the 1997 ACM Pioneer Award, Daniels was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2016 and died in 2020.

Other performers during the evening included Sara Evans offering a rendition of her hit “Born to Fly,’ while Dennis Quaid performed “Fallen.”

Tim McGraw and now-retired Universal Music Group Nashville chairman/CEO Mike Dungan were the recipients of this year’s ACM Icon Award, which honors an artist, duo/group or industry leader who has advanced the popularity of the genre through their contributions in various sectors of the industry.

During his decades in the industry, Dungan has championed artists including Brooks & Dunn, Pam Tillis, Brad Paisley, Brothers Osborne, Stapleton, Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan, Kacey Musgraves, Jordan Davis and Parker McCollum.

“He took so many artists under his wing,” Davis told Dungan from the stage. “What you’ve done in country music will last a lifetime and this genre is better because you are part of it.” Davis was then joined by contemporary Christian music hitmaker (and now UMG Nashville-aligned artist) Anne Wilson for a rendition of Davis’ No. 1 hit “Buy Dirt” (the original featured Luke Bryan). Meanwhile, Priscilla Block offered up what she called “the song that brought us together in the first place,” her breakthrough hit “Just About Over You.”

McGraw earned his first ACM honors back in 1994, picking up top new male vocalist and album of the year (for Not a Moment Too Soon). In 1997, he earned single, song, vocal event and video of the year honors for his enduring duet with his wife Faith Hill, “It’s Your Love.” Those are just a few of the 21 ACM Awards honor McGraw has picked up during his nearly four-decade career.

Brett Young honored McGraw with an especially soulful rendering of “Don’t Take the Girl,” while Nelly performed his genre-blending McGraw collaboration from 2004, “Over and Over,” noting that he and McGraw recorded the song not because either necessarily was in need of a hit, but out of pure respect for each other’s artistry.

“He believed in what I was trying to do; it’s an honor to call him a friend,” Nelly said, stepping down from the stage to hug McGraw, who was seated front row in the Ryman Auditorium, alongside Hill and their children.

Country Music Hall of Famer Randy Travis honored Kane Brown with the ACM international award, while Lee Brice performed Brown’s recent No. 1 hit “Like I Love Country Music.” Brown recently notched his 10th No. 1 Country Airplay hit with “Bury Me in Georgia” and has crisscrossed the globe on his international Drunk or Dreaming tour, visiting Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the U.K. and Europe.

“Country music let me into the family and now I get to travel the world and be different, which is what I’ve always wanted to be and what I always have been,” Brown said in accepting his honor.

Closing out the evening was a celebration for ACM Triple Crown winner Chris Stapleton. The ACM Triple Crown honor is given to artists who have previously earned ACM new male or female artist of the year, ACM male or female artist of the year and ACM entertainer of the year trophies during their career. The ACM triple crown honor has been awarded to only eight other artists, including Kenny Chesney, Carrie Underwood, Miranda Lambert, Merle Haggard and Barbara Mandrell.

“Every now and then someone comes through who levels the walls and moves things forward,” said singer-songwriter-musician and country music historian Marty Stuart, in honoring Stapleton with the ACM triple crown honor.

Husband-and-wife duo The War and Treaty brought the audience to its collective feet with their otherworldly, showstopping offering of Stapleton’s “Cold,” their unparalleled voices melting over the song’s soulful angst.

Stapleton was humble in accepting his ACM Triple Crown honor, thanking his family and his team and saying, “I was just out here playing songs, seeing if something could happen. Still kind of feel that way sometimes…I’m so grateful…It’s a wonderful and rare thing to get to do something you love so much.”

No doubt, many in the room that evening would agree with Stapleton’s simple, heartfelt sentiment.

The 16th Annual Academy of Country Music Honors will air on FOX for a second year. The show, which will be held on Wednesday, Aug. 23, at the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, will air as a two-hour special on Monday, Sept. 18 (8-19 p.m. ET/PT).
The event, which the ACM likes to call the “country music industry’s favorite night,” will recognize several special honorees, including ACM Triple Crown Award recipient Chris Stapleton; ACM Poet’s Award recipients Clint Black, Mary Chapin Carpenter and K.T. Oslin; ACM International Award recipient Kane Brown; ACM Icon Award recipient Tim McGraw; and ACM Lift Every Voice Award recipient Breland

Four-time ACM Award winner Carly Pearce will return for a third year to host the ceremony. Pearce will also perform on the show, as will Breland, Chris Janson, Lady A, Keith Urban, Trisha Yearwood, Brandy Clark, Jordan Davis, The War and Treaty, Bailey Zimmerman, Emily Shackelton, Anne Wilson and more. The full line-up of artists included in the FOX primetime special will be released in the coming weeks.

“We are thrilled to be working with FOX for a second year to bring one of our industry’s favorite nights, filled with emotional tributes and unforgettable performances, to primetime television,” Academy of Country Music CEO Damon Whiteside said in a statement.

Other recipients of special awards, in addition to those already named, include Charlie Cook, Charlie Daniels, Mike Dungan, Ashley Gorley, HARDY, Bill Mayne and Troy Vollhoffer. 

The 16th Annual ACM Honors will be produced for television by ACM Productions LLC. Damon Whiteside is executive producer for the Academy of Country Music, and Martin Fischer is executive producer for Opry Entertainment. Edie Lynn Hoback is producer.

VIP packages for ACM Honors, including seating in the exclusive artist pit, access to a VIP pre-party reception, and a limited-edition Hatch Show print poster commemorating the show, are available for on AXS.